Christian’s Expositor Journal
Winter 2006
“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:31-33, NKJV unless noted otherwise)
The angel explained to Joseph, “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
The name of Jesus is a name full of meaning. Throughout the Word of God, inspired writers have announced Jesus in so many ways. The Messianic prophet Isaiah said the following about Jesus approximately 750 years before He was born in Bethlehem:
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the Government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall Be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).
To this list, Scripture adds that Jesus is Messiah, Savior, Redeemer, Son of God, Rose of Sharon, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Those of us who have the privilege to declare the Good News love to preach about Jesus concerning all of these terms. Nevertheless, the Apostle Paul refers to Jesus in a way with which we are not as comfortable:
“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,” (Philippians 2:5-9).
Paul declares that Jesus emptied Himself of His glory by having taken upon Himself the form of a servant and having been made in the likeness of men.
Like most of us, I do not like to see Jesus as a servant but would rather see Him as Master, King, and Redeemer. Perhaps the reason it is difficult to see Jesus as a servant is because He is our example, and we do not want to see ourselves as a servant. In our prosperous times, we choose to see ourselves as important, and we do not want anyone to look down on us. We have abolished the idea of slavery in our country. We certainly want our children to be successful and so we educate them, motivate them, teach them the importance of a “good” job, and encourage them to become leaders. Then we take them to worship where they are taught from the Word of God to be humble and submissive. They then struggle with such concepts, yet Paul does mention in the above passage that Jesus humbled Himself and became “obedient unto death, even the death on the cross.”
Humility is the rich soil in which all Christian graces grow! Jesus did not go to Calvary as a King. He did not die as Lord. In His most defining moment on earth, Jesus died as a slave! You will remember that Judas sold Him for thirty pieces of silver. Through the years preachers have discussed how much thirty pieces of silver was worth in American money. That is not the issue. The value of money is constantly changing. Thirty pieces of silver was the price of an ordinary slave at the time of the Lord’s death. Judas sold Jesus as a slave, and He died as a slave! And yet, it was His greatest moment.
“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.” (Hebrews 2:9-10).
Jesus continuously thought about caring for the well-being of other people, as Paul declares in the passage above, even “to the death of the cross.” Not only does he describe Jesus in this manner, but he also invites us to “let this mind be in you.” He encourages the Phi1ippians to avoid accomplishing things through strife or vain glory and to look past their own things so that they might be concerned about the lives of other people. The life of a Christian is to be centered around serving others. Jesus demonstrated this in His daily life, and He taught it in His messages. In the parable of the man who fell among thieves, the priest and the Levite pass by on the other side. But the Samaritan has compassion on him, goes to him and cares for him. The lawyer had asked, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” The answer is to love God with all our hearts and to love our neighbor as our self (Luke 10:27). Christianity is about loving God and other people. One of the ways we demonstrate that is by the way we serve both of them.
“For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:13-14).
One of the wonderful illustrations that Jesus leaves us is found in the Gospel of John.
(Jesus) “rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, are You washing my feet?’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.’ 8Peter said to Him, ‘You shall never wash my feet!’ Jesus answered him, ‘If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.’ Simon Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!’ Jesus said to him, ‘He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.’ For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, ‘You are not all clean.’ So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, ‘Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him.’” (John 13:4-16).
It was an amazing evening when the Lord washed the disciples’ feet! A small setting, only thirteen men, but God wanted the world to see the occasion. Therefore, Inspiration shows the Son of God, the most significant person ever to live, on the floor washing the disciples’ feet. They are all there, and they do not understand what is happening. Peter decides before Jesus comes to him that he will not allow the Lord to wash his feet. But he quickly changes his mind. Judas is there too. The record says, “and ye are clean, but not all. For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he. Ye are not all clean.” So Judas has not yet left the room. Jesus washes his feet. Judas has sold Jesus to the chief priests for thirty pieces of silver, and Jesus knows. And Judas knows He knows. The betrayer is being washed by the betrayed. Could you do that? Could you wash the feet of your worst enemy? Could you wash the feet of someone who betrayed you? If Judas learned the lesson of humility and love that Jesus was teaching the disciples, he might have overcome the evil ambitions and covetousness that he sometimes demonstrated. It is never too late.
But he did not learn the lesson.
When the Lord finished washing their feet, He asked them if they understood what had just happened. He reminded them that He was their Lord and Master, and if He could wash their feet, they should he able to wash each others’ feet. He gave them a tremendous example of humility and submission and challenged them to show that attitude among themselves. I am convinced that most of the problems that we have in the church and in our interpersonal relationships exist because we do not have a servant’s heart!
In Matthew 20, Zebedee’s wife brought her sons James and John to Jesus, asking that they might sit on the right and on the left of Jesus in His kingdom. It is a natural desire for mothers to seek such positions for their sons, but the Bible says that when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren. Why were they angry? James and John were part of the inner circle. They were some of the closest of the Lord’s disciples. They would be a logical choice for such honorable positions. The ten could not accept that someone could or should be in a higher position than they, and so the Lord taught them again, “... but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave --- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:26-28).
In Matthew 23:11-12 Jesus spoke to the multitude and to His disciples and said, “But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
In our culture today, we do not accept this teaching. The greatest are served by their servants. But in the kingdom of God, things are reversed. The way up is down!
When Paul said, "by love serve one another,” he gave us a command and a condition. If we do not serve one another, it is because we do not love one another as we ought. We must grow in both!
The demonstration of life in Jesus clearly shows us that He came to this earth as a servant. He lived His daily life as a servant. He died as a servant— a servant to His Father and a servant to man.
1111 Garst
Cabool, Missouri 65689
donpruitt@mchsi.corn
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